Friday, September 4, 2015

Universal sent out a survey asking guests to design a new theme park

All of the local theme park companies are known for their surveys that they send out to annual pass holders on somewhat of a regular basis. Universal sends out numerous surveys every year, but a few recent ones are a bit out of the typical survey mold and they’re drawing some attention (it should be mentioned that I personally did not receive these surveys and Universal asks those who take them to keep the contents confidential but information of the surveys have been posted across the internet).

Two separate surveys sent out recently might show what Universal has in the works for the future. The first one was focused on Nintendo.

The first survey asked participants to rank what type of attractions they would be most interested in seeing. Many of the questions included examples of pre-existing attractions at the park. Participants were asked if a ‘Diagon Alley style’ secret entrance or a wide entrance similar to Hogsmeade would be more appealing for Nintendo. The size of the land, the type of rides and numerous questions regarding possible meet-and-greets were also included.

The meet-and-greets section included questions about theming, backdrops and interactivity. Currently Mickey at Magic Kingdom and occasionally the Transformers meet-and-greets include some interactivity with mostly pre-recorded sound bites. Islands of Adventure also features an interactive fountain and Magic Kingdom used to have a popular interactive trashcan (R.I.P. Push). Another option could be a screen based interactive experience similar to the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor at Magic Kingdom or Turtle Talk at Epcot. That technology has dramatically decreased in cost in recent years and is now used numerous attractions of various budgets.

The second survey’s content is even more intriguing. It asked participants to ‘build’ their ideal third theme park. Questions included things like how many rides it would include, what type of attractions and what would the ideal mix of attractions be. The survey specifically had three lands with five attractions each, then participants had to select what mix of dark rides, coasters, simulators, meet-and-greets, etc that they would prefer and answer which of them should be family friendly, thrill or other intensity levels.

The survey in itself doesn’t reveal anything new, but does give fuel to the rumors of a third theme park in the works for Universal Orlando.

Universal is closing Wet 'n Wild at the end of 2016 as they prepare for the opening on the new "water theme park" that is being built just south of the Cabana Bay resort. Speculation of what will be replacing Wet 'n Wild have ranged from a new theme park to shopping with the strongest rumors being a major new, Vegas style hotel with upwards of 5,000-7,000 new hotel rooms. The property though is roughly the same size as Disneyland in California, so a third theme park on that property isn’t out of the question.

Have you received one of these surveys, was it any different than the ones mentioned here? What, if anything, do these new surveys mean?